News Hook | 3D Reporting | Length | Story Ideas
What is a good "news hook"?
For all your stories, you need a good news hook, and that hook should be made clear in the first two or three paragraphs. A news hook is a piece of information demonstrating that your subject is important news NOW.
News hooks for event stories are automatic if you cover them properly and in a timely fashion. News hooks for depth pieces or process stories sometimes are less obvious. You often have to remind your audience (viewer / reader) that your subject has been in the news recently, and that it is of ongoing or continuing concern. If you were writing about safety concerns for manned space flight, you might remind your audience about the Challenger and Columbia disasters.
The best news hooks convey a sense of why something is important NOW and suggest a reason that this story should be carried today, not tomorrow or last week.
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What is 3D Reporting?
As we use the term in class, "3D Reporting" is a shortened/reduced version of the process of providing meaningful context to a story. In short, the term refers to a special case of the process Shaw et. al. describe as "adding perspective" to a story.
The three D's refer to 1) Documents 2) Data and 3) Diverse human sources. These are the bare minimum required for a "Depth" report. A separate document in this Web site describes the process in more detail.
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How long do my stories need to be?
Each of your stories needs to be long enough to get the job done. Typically, event stories are going to be 400-700 words each (an advance and the follow up coverage) while depth reports are 800 to 1,000 words. Separate descriptions exist for event stories and for depth reports and explain in greater detail what is expected for each.
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How do I find ideas for depth reports?
If you are having difficulty coming up with ideas for stories that will both appeal to a West Texas audience AND be worthy topics for a depth report, three different strategies suggest themselves. The first strategy listed here should be your first approach – always look for questions of public policy or broad social concern behind the events.
- Start local. Look at what is in the AJ, the UD, lubbockonline.com, or on the local TV stations. Make an inventory. Then ask yourself "what processes are going on behind the event?" Another way of asking that question is "what public policy concerns do these stories / events call attention to?"
- Start national, global, or state. Look at the BBC News Web site (global), Google News, Yahoo News, The Washington Post online, or statesman.com. Answer what are the big stories? How do they relate to West Texas? Then do the same as in 1 above: ask yourself "what processes are going on behind the event?" Another way of asking that question is "what public policy concerns do these stories / events call attention to?"
- Try the "all the players" approach that is described in this Web site under "Three D's of Depth Reporting." The trick here is to identify all the different kinds (groups) of people that might have an interest in this story or event. This will help you to understand the different perspectives that might be used to approach your story. what is expected for each.
- Discuss the news with others. This might be people in your class, other classes, or even dropping by Dr. Reddick's office (he doesn't bite, too often).
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